2021 No. 216 (W. 53)

National Health Service, Wales

The Nurse Staffing Levels (Extension of Situations) (Wales) Regulations 2021

Made

Coming into force

The Welsh Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 25B(3)(c) and 203(9) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 20061, make the following Regulations.

In accordance with section 203(6) of that Act, a draft of these Regulations has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, Senedd Cymru2.

Title and commencement1

1

The title of these Regulations is the Nurse Staffing Levels (Extension of Situations) (Wales) Regulations 2021.

2

These Regulations come into force on 1 October 2021.

Specified situations for nursing services2

Paediatric inpatient wards are specified as a situation to which the duties under section 25B of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 apply.

Vaughan GethingMinister for Health and Social Services, one of the Welsh Ministers
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Under section 25B of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006, a Local Health Board or NHS Trust which provides nursing services in relation to those clinical settings specified in subsection 25B(3), namely adult acute medical inpatient wards and adult acute surgical inpatient wards, is under a duty to calculate, and take steps to maintain, nurse staffing levels, and to inform patients of those nurse staffing levels.

These Regulations extend the situations to which the duties under section 25B of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 apply to include paediatric inpatient wards.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations in Wales. A copy can be obtained from Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.